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In its new memoir, “Change the recipe: Because you cannot build a better world without breaking some eggs” (To be published on 22 April by ECCO), the founder of Humanitarian Assistance Organization World Central Kitchen, Chef Jose Andres, offers life lessons and educational moments about responsibility and commitment to a common humanity.
Read a fraction below, and Do not remember the interview of Kelifa Sanaah with Jose Andres “CBS Sunday Morning” 6 April!
“Change recipe” by Jose Andres
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What does it matter
I came from the world of high-level restaurants of cunning and creativity. So a ascetic restaurant was not the same as I was watching. But in Washington, DC, my new partners had a clear idea: they wanted to open a Spanish restaurant that was fun. He called it urbano, meaning “Mirmacking, a joyous festival,” a Spanish woman inspired by John Singer Sergeant Painting dancing to the guitar. It lives in Boston, but traveled on a loan for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, and he saw it there. He even painted its breeding on a wall of the new restaurant.
I understood that feeling of happiness. I am a kind of boy who does not like the table. I like by standing on bars. If I can, I like to expect around five different times and eat good food on each one. Jalo was a chance to show how I like the pleasure of life. These small plates of Tapas had a chance to give people more access to different tastes of different regions of Spain. Maybe people did not know what they wanted to eat, and small plates would be a way to move slightly from their comfort areas. Of course, it was an opportunity to create an impression for yourself. And I could have done this, while a kind of ambassador to my country, not far from the United States capital, not far from the White House and the US Capital. It felt like the expansion of my military service, moving from the port to the port on a historic long-masters ship to the port, showing the best Spain for the world.
I knew that I was in front of me who used to bring Spanish food to every corner of America. He opened the restaurant, perhaps some of them played or danced the guitar. They were mythological places. Tio Peppe in Baltimore. Cafe San Martin in New York. Montus Guilan’s L. International in Tribka, which was short -lived, but put Spanish food and drink on the map. Washington already had a high-end Spanish restaurant, called Tabarna Del Alboro, and Edams Morgan had more informal Chareria Madrid.
Washington was not seen as a Pak Mecca at the time, even by the people of DC, and Jaleo was opened in the neighborhood of a city, known as a pen quarter, which was empty at night. But it will not remain like this. It would become a very important part of the city, from where all major decisions were overcome, which affected the country and the world. It was a part of the city where senators, Congress, lobists and business officers used to gather. It was home to new businesses like America online, and many other amazing new companies. Gradually, but of course, urbanos became a big success.
It was not easy to say. I was younger, just twenty -three years old, and I was still learning to run a kitchen. The film put me in my head as a creative man, but now I need to know how to run the place. Fortunately, I had a wonderful, patient teacher: N Kaasian, who was the first executive chef of Jaleo, showed me how to do the work properly, even though I liked the creative side of things.
We really did not know whether American dinner would accept these small plates, or the idea of sharing plates. What happened if people do not want to share? Our waiters were worried and often tell me how some people said that they were not comfortable sharing. I had a simple answer. If they did not want to share, they could take the plate closer to ten inches and used their knives and forks to protect the dish for themselves. I was not going to American to American. This is what we did in the south of Spain and in Catalonia. They will customize because it was a fun way to live with friends. Who does not want to dig a fork in a person’s plate across the table?
My heart was full of joy that comes from starting Spanish food for new people. That Anand was translated into happy guests that I knew. Jaleo was a place where I could share whatever I knew about Spanish food: Crochetus, Gazpacho, Ajilo Jhengi, SangriaBut it was also a way to do Was not Know about Spanish food. I did not travel to Spain at the age of twenty -three, nor did I know about the Spanish gastronomy. Far away from The reality is that you need to learn in the line of any work. People say that I am one of the greatest experts of Spanish cooking, but I still feel cluled sometimes. Every time I go back to Spain and discover a new component or a new dish, it seems like looking at the stars. You can see something, but how many more that you can’t see? You can read books, and you can travel, but learning is a lifetime of curiosity and search.
Sometimes that work can feel less joyful and more struggle. In particular, in those early days, it was a struggle to buy the right material. Believe it or not, I am a practical man. You can support the local economy, for example you can buy local fruits and vegetables. But there are some materials that cannot be replaced. I observed the success of Italy, where they have been surprisingly successful in supporting small cities where their unique food products are made. I was confident that we could do the same for small cities and food producers in Spain. Manchego cheese is not like anyone else. Sweet -roasted Picillo The chillies are unique. Our olive oil is jealous of Europe, and even re -prepared under Italian names. Our sherry vinegar is unmatched. And nothing else is the best in the world, compared to our pure-breed ibiriko ham. You cannot cook Spanish without some staples. It was a symbiotic relationship.
Nevertheless, importing food is not always easy. There are rules and policies, rules for the protection of consumers and businesses. The US Department of Agriculture states that slaughterhouses operate according to American standards, not European, if they want to sell their meat in the United States. They need to be inspected, even though Europeans have been eating these foods without any problems for centuries. It was crazy, but also attractive. Of course, it was not just a question of security; There were concerns that Ham from Spain would hurt Ham in America. So one day I met a bearded person visiting Washington, and he happened as a great Ibriko Ham manufacturer, investing to follow American rules in his slaughterhouses: Santiago Martin, owner of Ambuteidos Fermin. I helped producers like Santiago to navigate these challenges with Congress and administration, finding a lawyer who assisted Italians in bringing Parma Ham to America. Because in fact these European Hams were much more expensive than the American Hams, and they helped increase the perception of all pork products in the US. It was a win for America and Spain.
It is a world of work. Your commitment to your values, which is important, can change a small decision – such as a type of roasted black pepper or a piece of ham – something larger as international relations.
What does your sense of responsibility matter. How was I going to be a Spanish chef without all these ingredients? I had to act like other chefs and importers who provided Spanish food in the United States. People like Tim Harris, who built the incredible Spanish food store La Tanda, and Juan Gimeno Faron, who launched the La Espanola Meet. Or Almudena D. Laguno and Steve Metzler bring Spanish wine to America; And George Ordonase, who used to walk with a large bag filled with liquor bottles on the streets of Manhattan, tried to bring his wine to some restaurants. The entire ecosystem of Spanish food people was leaving me, and I also needed to play my share.
So the identity became much higher than a restaurant; This was a way to build bridges between these two countries, to motivate the American chef to buy and cook with Spanish materials, to spread the culture that made me who I am. They reach their five -year anniversary before all 80 percent of the restaurant closes. The military has now opened for thirty years, and we have new gelos in Orlando, Las Vegas and even Dubai. Because we were committed from the first year what we give importance – what matters – even when we did not have all the expertise to do so yet.
I feel a feeling of joy when I see Ierico Ham, or Spanish ankovies, or liquor from the Bierro region in restaurants and shops. I know that nothing has happened without the perseverance and vision of so many people, which can now be forgotten. They built bridges that would run forever – because they cared so deeply.
Follow what you feel is your purpose – not what others ask you to do. Otherwise you lose your soul and become an object. Do not be an object. Stay true by yourself.
“Change the recipe: Because you cannot build a better world without breaking some eggs” by Jose Andres. Copyright © 2025 by Jose Andres. An impression of Harper Collins publishers, excerpt by the permission of ECCO.
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“Change recipe” by Jose Andres
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